PackersNews.com reports the Green Bay Packers have not ruled out using their franchise or transition tag on either DE Vonnie Holliday or DT Cletidus Hunt. However, such a move appears unlikely at this time. Tagging either player would cost the team more than $5 million against the 2003 salary cap.
PackersNews.com reports the Green Bay Packers could open up $2 million on the salary cap by releasing C Frank Winters. However, the team is expected instead to re-sign him to the league minimum of $750,000.
Updating previous reports, Bill Williamson for the Pioneer Press reports the Minnesota Vikings and TE Jim Kleinsasser have made no progress on a long-term deal. The team will likely wait until the deadline Thursday to decide whether to place their transition tag on him, which they are expected to do.
Updating previous reports, Bill Williamson for the Pioneer Press reports the agent for QB Mark Rypien said his client would be interested in joining the Minnesota Vikings as a backup. The Vikings might explore the possibility should they find a trade for QB Todd Bouman.
The Boston Herald reports the New England Patriots have until Thursday to use one of their tags on S Tebucky Jones, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency. Jones has stated he wouldn’t take part in the team’s off-season camps if they put a tag on him.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones issued the following statement regarding RB Emmitt Smith on Tuesday: "I had a very thorough and extensive meeting with Emmitt Smith yesterday (Monday). "We will meet again, near the end of next week, at which time we will address the future -- in a manner that we believe will serve the best interests of the Dallas Cowboys and Emmitt Smith."
ein sehr langer artikel zum thema bulger oder warner:
(bei der dazugehörigen umfrage: wer wird starting-QB bei den rams, liegt bulger mit 53% vorne - ca. 1500 teilnehmer)
So much for a competition.
When the Rams’ season mercifully came to an end after Christmas, head coach Mike Martz announced that the quarterback position would be open to both Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger when the team opened camp in August. No problem there. Warner had struggled with injuries and just plain, old poor play while Bulger was one of the feel-good stories of the year.
So a month and a half has passed, and now Martz says that Warner will be the starter next season and the competition won’t be open to Bulger. Martz told a St. Louis television station that Warner’s broken hand is back to full strength and he is confident that the two-time NFL MVP will be ready to take the reins once again next season.
And it’s a crock.
Martz doesn’t like to be wrong — who does? — and he seems to have an air about him that says, “Don’t even bother to question me because I’m right.” It’s an arrogance that has annoyed more than a few observers with the team, and his unwillingness to bend when he thinks he is right has cost the Rams in the past. Last season he steadfastly stood by Warner even as Bulger was enjoying one of the best seasons of any quarterback in the league, and only a hand injury to Bulger kept a full-blown QB controversy from developing. But closing the competition in February when Warner has done nothing to show that he is ready to return to the form that made him one of the top quarterbacks in the league isn’t in the Rams’ best interest.
I don’t want to give the impression that I’m not a Kurt Warner fan. I am. But I, along with everyone else last season, saw that something was wrong with Warner. It started in the preseason when his passes just didn’t have the same crispness coming out of his hand that they once did. His accuracy suffered as well, but Martz said that nothing was wrong with his quarterback.
I’m not an NFL coach. I’ve never worked a day for a coaching staff. But I could recognize that something was wrong with Warner. Then he suffered a broken hand, and backup Jamie Martin started having knee problems, which opened the door for Bulger. Bulger finished the season with a QB rating of 101.5 to Warner’s 67.4, and the 25-year-old clearly was the better quarterback last season.
But Martz is sticking with Warner, and I think it’s a mistake. Warner has withstood a lot of punishment in his short time in the league, and it has been one of his best attributes. He is willing to stand in the pocket and take some big shots to give his receivers that extra precious second to get open. But it looks as though the hits have worn him down physically. Meanwhile, Bulger looked confident running the Rams’ offense, and his relative youth — he’s six years younger than Warner — make him an interesting prospect for the future.
Martz loves to talk about all that Warner has done in the past for the Rams, and nobody can argue with Warner’s credentials. We already talked about the two MVP awards, and he threw for 4,830 yards — second-most in league history — in 2001. He has taken the Rams to the Super Bowl twice, winning one, and he helped turn a moribund franchise into one of the top teams in the NFL.
But that was in the past. The Rams aren’t considered one of the top teams in the NFL after suffering through a 7-9 season and missing the playoffs. Warner’s early struggles — he threw one touchdown vs. eight interceptions in his first four games last year — killed the Rams. And that was when he was still healthy. Even when he came back, he threw two touchdowns and three interceptions, and that isn’t the kind of production we have come to expect from Warner.
I understand Martz’s loyalty to Warner, but that doesn’t mean it is the best policy for the Rams right now. The “Greatest Show on Turf” is getting older, and the team’s window of opportunity to win another Super Bowl is closing fast. Martz has slammed shut Bulger’s window of opportunity to take over as starting quarterback, and he will have to go into camp as the No. 2 guy. It’s a role he will keep until Warner gets hurt — and history tells us that that is a very strong possibility — or until Warner plays himself out of the starting job. Of course, Warner might return to his old form and Martz will look like a genius, but I don’t think that is going to happen.
One of the reasons the Yankees have been so good for so long is that they made decisions with their head, not their heart. If a player wasn’t really producing, the Yankees dealt the player while he still had value but was clearly on the downside of his career. That’s where I think Warner is right now. He has been great, but he’s looking downhill at this time.
Yes, Warner has meant a lot to the Rams’ organization, but that was before. Football games aren’t won on sentimentality. The past is the past, and the Rams need to think about moving Warner while he still has value. Because that’s really what is at the heart of all this. The Rams are dreaming of Warner returning to form, returning to the magician that was so effective in his first three years as a starter. They don’t want to move Warner and watch him excel elsewhere. They want him to be the leader he once was for the team, and there still is the possibility that he will put together another MVP season.
Warner is only 31 years old, and he still could have a couple of great seasons left in that body. Yet he has suffered some injuries over the years and again, even when he was fully healthy last year, he still played as though something was missing from his game. Bulger never looked like he was missing anything, and he fit the Rams’ system perfectly. The question now becomes: How long will Martz stick with Warner if he struggles again? Martz has shown that he won’t bow to pressure from the media or fans, and if Warner has a rough start to his year, there will be calls for Martz to make a change. It will be interesting to see if he is smart enough to make the right move.
Closing the QB competition in February when Warner hasn’t proven anything since getting healthy is a mistake. Bulger hasn’t done anything to show that he isn’t the better man for the job right now, and it’s never a good idea for a team to close its options. If the Rams explored a trade of Warner, they likely could command — and get — a proven star and a first-round draft pick or two from a team in need of a quarterback. That would go a long way toward helping the Rams get a little bit younger while keeping the team competitive. By naming Warner the starter now, any possible deal has been ruined because Martz isn’t about to suddenly change his mind and trade his starter.
Football has to be a cold business sometime. Warner has been a star for the Rams, but his star is fading. Anybody who saw him last year had to notice, and the stats back it up. Martz’s decision to name Warner the starter now seems shortsighted, and it could come back to haunt the team in the long run.
diese news dürfte hochinteressant sein, denn schließlich ist curtis conway einer TopScorer unter den noch verbleibenen WRs!!!
The San Diego Union-Tribute reports the San Diego Chargers will likely release WR Curtis Conway by the end of the month according to Gary Uberstine, Conway's agent. Conway wanted to extend the contract while restructuring the deal, but the Chargers weren't interested Uberstine said. "We're essentially done," Uberstine said of the negotiations. The Chargers can save $1 million due in a roster bonus and $3.2 million against the cap if Conway is released by March 1st.
für mich war pennington ein steal in der 2. runde und ich befürchte, die jets werden eine gute saison haben:
The Star-Ledger reports New York Jets QB Chad Pennington is already preparing for the 2003 season. He has been working on strengthening his rotator cuff and muscles in his throwing shoulder. "I'm really excited about the 2003 season," Pennington says, "excited about what we're capable of."
an dem sollen angeblich die dolphins interesse haben:
Updating previous stories, NY Newsday reports the New York Giants will not use the franchise tag on OT Luke Petitgout. He will hit the open market February 28, if he is not re-signed before then. The Giants do not want to squander the $5.7 million in salary cap space it would require to all but take Petitgout off the market by franchising him.
Updating previous reports, the Arizona Republic reports the Arizona Cardinals should meet with the agent for WR David Boston this week to discuss his future with the team. There is speculation he could be designated the team’s franchise player by Thursday’s deadline.
Updating previous reports, the Arizona Republic reports the Arizona Cardinals should meet with the agent for QB Jake Plummer this week to discuss his future with the team.
The Arizona Republic reports the Arizona Cardinals are unlikely to re-sign WR MarTay Jenkins before the start of free agency at the end of the month. Michael Bauer, Jenkins’ agent, met with the team last week and is believed to be seeking a contract in the range of the $3-million-a-year deal San Diego Chargers WR Tim Dwight signed last off-season. Dwight also received a $5 million signing bonus. The Cardinals don’t appear willing to give up that much money to Jenkins.
Updating previous reports, the Akron Beacon Journal reports Cleveland Browns head coach Butch Davis said Tuesday that QB Tim Couch is not on the trading block nor is the team shopping him around, contrary to recent reports. “That hasn’t even entered into the equation,” Davis said. “(A trade is) so far down the list of even talkable subjects.”